Padding your Rail

We got our foam from the same location Junell did for his table. 

We couldn't find any places in the greater Omaha area that sold the dimensions we were looking for.  We didn't want to do separate strips of foam and have to cut them all out in 8 inch strips.  If you wanted to, I suppose you could, but we decided not to go that route.

We ordered our 54" wide by 108" long foam from A. A. S. R. in Houston Texas.  Their number is 713-223-4474. 

Due to the recent hurricanes the price of foam has more than doubled, and we ended up paying more than Junell did for his foam.  Also, we didn't go with the HD (high density) foam that Junell did on his table, as it was even more expensive. 

Any 1 inch foam you go with will be fine.  We were more than happy with the "regular" foam.

I placed my order on a Monday and received my shipment on Wednesday. 

Simply lay your rail upside down on top of your foam. 

As you can see you have plenty of spare fabric around the curves of your rail.  Center your rail the best you can.

On the outer part of your rail, measure a 1.5 inch outline.  Your rail is 1.5 inches thick and you'll want at least that much foam to cover it.

On the inner rail we measured out a .75 inch mark.  If you want you can put some of your scrap pieces of wood to work for you here.  Since each plank of wood was .75 inches thick simply slap two together and you have a perfect 1.5 inch thick measuring tool.  High tech, eh?

Here's a close up of our outline for our foam. 

Here's a progress pic of our foam cutting.  The outer portion has been cut away. 

I'd suggest cutting outside your markings first.  You lose some of the fabric when you attempt to wrap it around your rail.  Cut outside your lines first to leave yourself some extra room.  You can always remove more fabric later if you still have too much on.

If you also want to get your money's worth, you could take a quick nap, or as Cory opted for, have a "special" moment with yourself.  Hey, it's your foam right? 

Here's a pic of the entire outline of the foam cut out.

Notice we left plenty of room outside of our arcs.  We didn't want to be short on foam when we attempt to wrap it with the vinyl, so we left room for error. 

There were places we needed to cut more from, but we'd rather have too much than too little.

Run a quick coating of spray adhesive onto the wood and the foam. 

I just bought the cheapest spray I could find that stated it worked with foam and wood (most of them do).

When spraying onto your materials, make sure you align your wooden frame up with your foam where you want it to dry.  If you glue your wood frame down in the wrong spot, it's not going to be easy to remove and start over.

Let it dry for about 10 to 15 minutes, and turn your rail over (so the foam is on top).

Do a spot check along the rail by trying to gently lift the foam.  If it comes up more than it should, glue that bad boy back down again. 

With the left insert foam you cut out, you could make yourself a groovy pair of wings for that next Halloween party.

Or just look like a dork. 

Remember.....beer and drinking makes this process a lot more fun.  Don't be shy.  A mini bar and refrigerator near your working area is always a plus.